Sali
Sali is a minor nation, to the west of Malvern. Empire of Sali During the height of the Old Empire, Malvern warred constantly with the Empire of Sali to the west. United by Nebalech III – often referred to as the Great Salimon – armies from Sali once marched upon the city of Malvern itself. The Siege was broken with an Abstinent of Malvern assassinated Nebalech, plunging Sali into Chaos. The Empire of Sali dissolved within a few years, and Sali has been in decline ever since. The Mountain Nation of Sali The small but stalwart nation of Sali is nestled completely in the encompassing protection of the Raheesh Mountain range. The mountain range itself has many startingly high peaks with steep cliff faces. The mountains run all the way from Lashuff in the west to Barktiel in the east. A select few great valleys stretch between the mountain ranges from one end to the other. The culture of the Salimons is a slow one, developed over years. They are hard to move as the mountains, and while welcome to change, slow to implement it. Patience is a trait. Children learn from a young age that time is of no matter to a patient man and a long plan. Investments are made with the long term in mind, partnerships are made for lifetimes upon lifetimes, and marriage is permanent, but a couple could take 10 years to decide to marry. Spirits are looked upon an easy way out of learning lessons the hard and proper way. If someone gains power by bonding with a spirit, they are viewed as reckless and dangerous to wield such power without having first been trained to use it through years of practice. Enchanted equipment, however, is viewed as an improvement, as the tool is not at fault for the user's incompetence. The Salimons worship the mountain their capital, Kashar, is built around. The mountain is deemed to be the resting place of their deity, Raheem, the One who Dwells. Their story says that Raheem was a spirit who decided to try to divine the nature of the world. He sat down one day to ponder it, and he has not stood up since then and the very mountains themselves sprouted up around him to keep him company in his patient quest for knowledge. The Catars were once a part of the Salimons, but were banished, believing in the idea that bonding with spirits could divinate the nature of their diety. Once every 13 years, upon the return of the Nomad City, Salimons open their gates to allow Catar a one week rest from their travels and time to worship at the feet of Raheem before being exiled for another 13 years. The Seven Gates of Sali restrict access to the nation, Cities that lay on the only places of entry into the nation, everywhere else, the mountains and crags are impassable. The Gates were built when the nation was founded and are neigh impenetrable, being craved from massive slams as thick as the mountains themselves. Once they are closed, nothing gets in or out. The Mountain Academy of Horush is an entire Scholarly University hewn from a mountaintop. Every piece of the school is a solid piece of the mountain, lit by fires and attended to by the monks that made it from their bare hands in the beginning of the nation. It is also home to the Regent's Tower, the center of government in Sali. It is a single tower, 13 stories tall with only one pathway in, made by being completely suspended above a chasm via cables that are spun in a complex pattern. This is the Capital for the nation, with the heads of State gathering there for business. The Sali Navy, while small, is one of the only nations to take advantage of their plentiful bounty of ores by crafting plate armor for their ships. It was the idea of Rouge Dominionite Harriet Stalls to use the ore as a means of protecting their Ships. Until then, the Sali navy was mostly used for defensive operation and stuck close to their shore, keeping the Dominion out as the supply ships snuck past. The armor plating has transformed their small fleet into a much more menacing sight over the last 20 years of upgrades, and have managed to even win a few conflicts at sea against the arrows and Ballistae of the Dominion fleet. Cities of Sali Kashar - Capitol city of Sali, founded around the base of the holy mountain, Raheem. Home to the center of Government, The White Tower, a pure white Tower of 30 stories, suspended above the chasm between Raheem and its closest neighbor. Mostly administrative jobs, many businesses are headquartered there, including the Hojjang Smithing Company, crafter of world-wide used swords, often given to officers for their famed stability and craftsmanship. The city itself is highly maintained and polished, The stark white of most of its walls kept in contrast to the grey of the mountain it circles. In respect for the Spirit that they believe lays in the mountain, the real feat of the city is that not a single support touches Raheem at all. Many religious types of the realm say that Raheem keeps it up as a small favour for the fealty they pay to it. Sojo is a major merge of many cultures, and one of the few places that foreigners are seen in such numbers. The City guards keep a tight lid on street crime, but also investigate fraud and business crimes, so merchants are kept honest and prices low, thanks to Head of the Guard Horosho Malotto. The single port city to the nation And the First of the 7 Gates of Sali, Sojo is home to both merchant clans and the shipbuilding industry. It is Known as the Gate of Exploration, with an arch that falls over the major inlet to the deep port. The gate is carved into the two side, with the heavy arch having a pathway going over the top, known as the Path of the Stars, which gives a breathtaking view over the Sea of Nuance. The two only dry docks rest there, on belonging to Goshorn and Sons, is sheltered in an inlet in its own cove, and the other belonging to Harriet Stalls, a very old, skilled ship maker who escaped Dominion Prison. He has carved the cover out of the mountain itself, the dry dock now resting inside of a man made cave. The city itself is always guarded by The Carved Fort, a fort carved into the mountain, and Iron plated to all sides, preventing major attack Horush – The famed “Mountain-Top Academy,” Horush is the center of academic progress and is well known for their patience and persistence into subjects that they are researching. In that context, they are slow to pick up on new avenues of approach, but their graduates and scholars are famous for seeing what others have looked over in research. The Academy is most famous through the world for the simple that that each building in still a piece of the mountain. A sect of monks that care for the campus, known simply as “The Order of the Hammer” were the ones to have hew it from the very top of the mountain. Very few changes have been made to the academy since its creation, though its Monks are never seen to be idle. Ganglir - The main smelting and Ore producing city in the eastern side of the nation, Ganglir is known to many as the “City of Smoke and Stone.” Everything in the city revolves around the Smiths and the Miners. In fact, there are two separate sections of the City, both run by the Heads of their respective sides, Maash on the Smithy side and Lon on the Mining side. Known for their tempers to each other, there is often fights between the two as rivals, but as a team running the city, there is no better. There is not much entertainment in the city, but boxing and Pugilism are welcome and encouraged as a sport and many famous fighters have come from Ganglir, with the unorthodox “Sali Stance” that focuses on a long, defensive game that delivers decisive blows. Even the Heads spar in city famous matches, mostly to settle decisions of state that they can’t agree on. Barktiel '''- The Second of the 7 Gates, Barktiel is known as the “Gate of Tribulation.” Barktiel was designed to repel a serious invasion. Thick walls, long, twisted corridors with great lines of sight for the back watchtowers, Barktiel is a very much a city to survive under siege. Most interesting is the Landmark known as Runner’s Hall, a building where if the city is attacked, the messengers holding orders would run from. It is the center of a several competitions known as “Scurrying” in where fake orders are given to many runners with one destination, and the winner is the first there past the “Hunters” or chasers. It is a training regime for the Runners to use lesser known isles of approach to guarantee the arrival of orders quickly. '''Faloosh - The Third of the 7 Gates, known as the “Gate of Pertinence.” A city surrounding the Spire of Raheem, a single rock spire with a natural sundial around it, perfectly aligned with the time of day. Myth surrounds it, but few know of its origins, as it seems a mirical of nature. The grass around the main courtyard is groomed meticulously, and it is considered a privilege to do so, several people and businesses seen trimming it's lawn with pride. 4 sections of the city lay to the Dial’s quarters, know at the Morning, Noon, Evening and Night Quarters. Most famous in this city is the Night Quarter, home to the pleasure capital of the City. “The Delight” is a renowned Brothel, while “Sali’s Blessing” is a Gambling den of Smoke and Money that many fates are made and broken. Trade is large there, even despite the hazardous desert road that leads them there, the Malvernians much prefer to travel there for trade as opposed to Barktiel. Ashir - Small Agricultural town that is centered in a large plateau. The soil is rich there and it used to feed the eastern side of the nation. Much is produced, but the community is small, many slated to live and die there with no want to see the outside world. Their Regent, Jan Soun is a tyrant when it comes to logistics, berating many under him for failure. He rules his territory with an iron fist, but with his results, few complain. Konsheer - Fouth of the 7 Gates, it is known at the “Gate of Brotherhood.” Konsheer is the gate with which Catar comes to rest after her 13 year journey around the desert. Knosheer has broad steets, wide spaces, and luxury abound. It is still a fort City, but that is not the focus, as the city is directly in the middle of the Desert side of the mountain range. Few make it that far, let alone want to attack it afterward. They are a prosperous City is it is the gateway between the eastern and western sides of the nation. There is a saying that “Everything in the Nation was once in a Konsheer’s hands.” They take great pride in their organization and is concidered the fastest moving and most adaptable city in the nation. While her neighbor city, Kashar, is rooted in tradition, Konsheer is always coming up with new things. The young of the nation flock to the city, and original, but small business are always coming up. Very few survive, but the pioneering laws of Regent Sultu allow for these ideas to continue, even if the business died. Vol - The Fifth Gate, it is known as the “Gate of Retribution.” It is home to the training grounds of the Sali Army, and the officer’s training academy. It is constantly guarded and sharp eyed lookouts cover the mountain strewn walls. Cadets train in the high altitude environment in the series of building built up there, called "The Fortress." The Fortress is an old training ground, stepped in tradition and form. This is where the recruits to the Army are trained and made into fighting men. Some of the sepcialists are even left in the mountains for a week to make them adapt. A few casualties exist from this program, but it is concidered an hornoable death. Tog - The brother city to Vol, Tog is one of the only cities to produce ore and crops. Tog is a huge pit that has been strip mined, but as with all cities in Sali, the strip mining has been planned with a secondary feature. Once the pit is mined, the soil is returned and rice fields are created by redirecting rivers to the fields. Other fields exist, but the many Tiers of Tog are quite a sight to behold. 'Nangrow '- The Sixth Gate of Sali, Nangrow is a Craft city, focused on creating and forging. It is known as “The Gate of Innovation.” Here, giant crafting guilds were building into the city scape, becoming a part of the life there. Everything there is controlled by a guild. The Heads of the Guilds convene every month to run the city and try to push their craft further. The smithies for Tog are here, churning out whatever needs to be made, while the others make anything they can. The city is known for creating the cannons for Falor, during the first strikes of succession, a move no body suspected until recently. 'Lashuff '- The 7th and Final gateway, known as the “Gate of Transition” and is currently under siege by the Dominion. When the Archon, The Sillouette of Stars, found out about the Sali’s involvement with the war on the Dominion, he flew into a rage and set to the city, taking Samar along the way. The city, luckily, was actually dug out of a mountain, instead of created between them, and it one of the only fully underground cities in the world. With three main tunnels directing traffic to past the gate, it is currently shut. There are several sections that are open through the mountain, and the Salimon’s are currently using those as bases of attack, having scattered through the mountain. The once beautiful city has been restructured for military use, and most of the soldiers are direct from Vol as their first campaign. Category:Southern Lands Category:Sali